B.C.ERS ACCESS, USE OF POT GREATEST IN CANADA

1.84 Million B.C.ers Had Tried Marijuana At Least Once In
2004

We've gone to pot.

British Columbians have greater access to marijuana, and smoke it more
often, than other Canadians, according to a joint study.

The study, by the University of Victoria-based Centre for Addictions
Research of B.C. and Simon Fraser University's Centre for Applied
Research on Mental Health and Addictions, found that 1.84 million
B.C.ers had tried pot at least once in 2004.

That's about 53 per cent of the B.C. population, compared with 44 per
cent in the rest of Canada.

B.C.ers also reported they found it "very easy" to obtain weed --
about 65 per cent provincially compared with 44 per cent elsewhere in
Canada.

Fewer B.C. respondents believed cannabis use should be illegal -- 42
per cent, versus 49 per cent elsewhere.

Study co-author Dr. Benedikt Fischer, director of CARBC's Illicit
Drugs, Public Health and Policy unit, said both B.C.ers and those in
the rest of Canada reported using pot first at age 18 and three per
cent reported using it daily. Yet more B.C.ers reported trying to
control their use.

"There is a bit of a more liberal or accepting attitude [in B.C.]
compared to the rest of Canada," Fischer said.

Generally, pot users were more likely to be young men with a higher
education than non-users.

SFU's Jodi Sturge said the high-use rate in B.C. has resulted in more
cases of potentially hazardous use.

"In B.C., cannabis, like alcohol, is now regarded as a normal
recreational drug and the risks associated with it are especially
frequent," Sturge said in a news release.

The ongoing study can be found at http://www.carbc.ca.